The Substitute Shinigami: A Reason To Live
by The-baby-Sparrow
Summary: Yumichika has a substitute Shinigami following him now. Will he be able to stand a high school girl related to Ichigo? Or will he modify himself for his little 'student? BAAAD SUMARRY!BAAAD TITLE! READ IN FOR MORE DETAILS!
1. Chapter 1

hahahahA AS FAR AS I KNOW I'M THE FIRST PERSON TO WRITE A YUMICHIKAxOC PAIRING!!! if i am wrong please tell me. and give me a link to your story. I'd be happy to read it :) anyways...I hope you enjoy it!

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Chapter One

"She looks new."

"Hey, we have a new girl!"

"Hai, and she looks like Kurosaki!"

A teenage girl walked through the outside area of the foreign area. It wasn't like she was new to the town; she lived there all her life, but she used to live on the other side of town. In Karakura South. She knew everyone where she lived, but this high school. Except for her cousin, she knew no one.

"I wonder what she's like…"

Voices corrupted her calm stride toward the large institution. Her confidence soon turning into anxiety, and apprehension. She hadn't seen her cousin yet, which worried her. She had no idea where she had to go. She only moved into her dad's house yesterday. She searched for him, for his dominant feature amongst the sea of students walking through the small hallways. She still hadn't seen him. 'Where is he?' She thought to herself. Always being easy to find, she was perplexed about everything.

"You're the new girl, aren't you?" The confused girl heard a feminine voice asked her. She turned her head and saw two girls her age. One had choppy chestnut hair, and deep brown eyes. The other was shorter and had light brown hair, being kept out of her face by two red bobby pins.

"What's your name?" The short one asked, in an attempt to be friendly.

The girl became shocked. 'They don't know who I am?' was the only thing running through her head. Everyone in her side of town knew who she was, or at least knew who she was related to. She responded,

"I'm Kurosaki Kusori, and you two are…?"

"Oh I'm Natsui Mahana! And this is…-" The girl with the choppy brown hair turned to her shorter friend

A look of fear was plastered on the petite girl's face. Anxiety shone through her eyes as if she were about to be attacked by some predator. Her piercing scream was heard through the quiet halls,

"KUROSAKI!?!"

"Umm. Yeah…" Kusori was befuddled with her expression to her last name.

"So, Kusori-san what classes do you have?" Mahana asked curiously.

"You can just call me Kusori, and I have room 1-3, but I have no clue where that is!" Kusori responded, slightly embarrassed.

"That's alright, let me see your schedule?" Kusori handed Mahana the small pink piece of paper that she held in her hand. The choppy hair looked at the room number, and tried to recall something.

"I know this number is familiar…" She thought harder. Where had she seen it before? Then, a light bulb struck in her head. She knew where she saw that number.

"I know! That's our class, isn't it Michiru?" She turned to the small girl.

"Yeah, and in that class is a guy with the scariest face you'll ever see!" Michiru said, as she got closer to Kusori, trying to warn her ahead of time.

"Oh really, who would that be?" She wanted to know the answer. Michiru took a deep breath before shuddering.

"Kurosaki Ichigo!"

Kusori had to laugh at this. His face wasn't that bad, but the thought that someone thought it was, was too much for her too bear.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She laughed. She found this quite amusing. "Kuro-Kurosaki, ICHIGO!?" She snickered, soon her laugh became a holler, and people walking through the hallways thought she might have been on drugs.

"No I'm being serious, the way his eyes look so cold. He's weird! Stay away from him!" Michiru added, sounding more urgent.

"Now, I can't really stay away from family, can I?"

Mahana was shocked and Michiru just held her breath, her face gone white in fear.

"Is he your brother?" Mahana asked again slightly curious. Michiru went whiter as her friend pondered aloud. The Kurosaki's auburn hair flew wildly as she laughed harder at the insinuation of Ichigo being her brother. Her eyes closed tightly as she swung her head into her hands, cradling it like a giant ripe watermelon. She stopped, but only briefly to say,

"No only cousins. Don't the eyes give it away?" Her eyes opened, the same dark auburn eyes that he had she also possessed. It was her favourite trait, and her most recognizable.

"They do…They're creeping me out!" Michiru said as she turned herself away from her new acquaintance. She was met by a slender raven-haired girl, a book practically glued into her hand. Her grasp on the book as if it would save her life if she were out at sea. Her black eyes bore holes into Michiru, and she turned away. Looking at Kusori, she suddenly thought that the girl's eyes in front of her weren't so bad.

"Who's this?" She inquired rudely, she was much to busy reading her book. Mahana was about to respond when Kusori went up to her. She took the book out of her hands, and walked away from the black haired girl. Michiru tried to get the book back from its captor, but Kusori held the book above her head. She knew it was good almost being 5'5". The raven girl looked angry at her, and the female Kurosaki replied.

"If you weren't too busy reading your floatation device you would know who I am, Ryou." The others were shocked. Ryou looked at her with a wash of confusion on her face.

"You seem egotistical and stupid, you remind me of Kurosaki Ichigo…" Ryou said what she thought, and Kusori wouldn't stand for being insulted like that.

"Well, that's a good thing that I remind you of Ichigo. It'd be a little wrong if I didn't act slightly like my own cousin…Kunieda." Ryou was upset with this new girl, she was practically walking all over her.

"And food for thought, it's a fairly stupid idea to write your name on the _front_ of the book…It'd make much more sense to write it inside the front cover." And with that, she left.

Kusori continued to walk. She didn't care whom she insulted, or what affect it had on her. She just wanted to get these classes over with. After all, she was the new girl…she'd be going through a horribly boring interrogation all day. She hated being asked questions. Even though she didn't mind answering some of them, she just didn't want to have to answer questions that were pointless or were already answered. It was a huge waste of time.

She soon walked her way to find the classroom on her own. 'So much for Mahana and Michiru,' she thought. About to walk into the classroom, she sighed deeply. Inhaling as much air as she could to settle her nerves. "Let's start the questioning, your Honour…" she whispered to herself. With her eyes closed, she took one step forward. Her new life began here, better make the most of it.

"You're the new kid!" A deep voice shouted at her. She midway taking her small step, and the hyper-active voice startled her, causing her head to jerk robotically and fall onto the ground.

"Nante koto da…(Jesus!) That hurt!" Kusori said as she looked up to her disturber. He was a tall boy with choppy mahogany hair, and his eyes matched them perfectly. His hand was in front of her face, in a kind gesture of assistance. Grateful, she took the person's hand, and was pulled up by him. He said,

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya like that." He scratched the back of his head, bowing his head slightly to her. She nodded back, and accepted his apology. He started again,

"What's your name, newbie?" he asked jubilantly

"Kurosaki Ku-" the tall boy beside her shouted into the classroom, cutting her off.

"Oi! Ichigo! I found your cousin!" He had said just as happy. Kusori was relieved.

"Is he in there?" She asked confused. The boy just stared at her and said,

"Ya don't worry about it. Oh, my name is Asano Kei-" another boy came, much taller than him, and hit him in the head with a textbook from his own hand.

"I knew she was here, baka. No need to shout!" The boy said, his short orange hair was noticeable from any distance. She had found him.

"Hello Ichigo. It's been a while." Smile seen on her face, and heard in her voice.

"Ya, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Usori-chan…"

She shrugged. "She eloped again, and I lost count of all her husbands, so I'm living with dad now."

"Oh, so how's the little 'brat' doing?" he smirked, she glared at him.

"Hoshimaru is just fine. And how are the twin witches?" She actually liked Karin. She reminded her of a girly Ichigo.

"On and off battles, but still getting along…anyways," He said scratching his head.

'Is that all these guys do anymore? Scratch their heads, so they come up with something to say?'

"My name is Asano Keigo!" the other boy said. Looks like he was alright from the blow. Kusori looked at him, and nodded. She turned back to her stubborn cousin and asked,

"Friend of yours?"

"Not really, I just keep him around."

"Hey Ichigo! That wasn't very nice! Of course we're friends, Kusori-chan! Don't listen to him!"

Both Kurosaki's laughed at the teenager, who was attempting a poor job of convincing everyone they were friends. Each of them laughed harder, when suddenly a cold sensation ran through her veins. Kusori looked around shocked, she only saw Keigo and her cousin still laughing. Was she the only one who felt this way? It was moving closer. What was it? What was going on? Why was she the only one feeling like this? 'Am I going insane?' she asked herself. She began to hear footsteps in her mind. Thinking her conscience was playing tricks on her, she ignored it. The footsteps got louder, much to her dismay. They ran in her brain like a church bell on Sunday (do churches have bells anymore?). Dark orange orbs searched their surroundings for any foreign objects. Scanning the hallway closely, a chipper voice popped into her head.

"Oh, hello Kegio. I didn't know you were here already." Kusori look at her suspiciously.

Her purple gaze landed on her brown haired boy gracefully. She seemed happy to see him, at least _appeared _to be happy. 4'4" she was quite short, and a tad on the skinny side. Her eyes danced as Keigo complimented her, and she swooned slightly in embarrassment. Yup. She was just like the rest of those god damned Mary-Sue wannabees. Her eyes turned a slight darker shade as she turned to Kusori. Afraid of what would happen, Kusori placed her hands on her stomach and laughed nervously. The short girl turned to Ichigo, and said in a happy tone.

"Ichigo-kun, who is she?" She tried to hide in a genuine laugh. 'Ichigo-kun…' No one dared to call him that!

"She's Kusori, my cousin…" he continued because Rukia seemed confused. "She's new here."

"Oh, well hello there Kusori, my name is Kuchiki Rukia." She grabbed her hand and shook it gratefully. Kusori gave her life-story, or so it seemed to her, and she was about to get to the reason why she came here, when a loud buzzing came from a speaker in the wall.

"Saved by the bell." She said to herself. Unaware, that Rukia was right beside her, dragging her into the drab classroom. We'll be late, she said.

"Right, let's just get this over with…" Some of her Kurosaki blood surfacing.

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It had been a long day; the sun was still in the cloudy sky. The average height of a girl walked through a desolate street way. It was silent, with only the small wind being heard. 'It's pretty quiet out here…' Kusori thought, turning her head to the left of her. She could have sworn she heard someone shout gleefully.

"Why does dad have to live in such an empty part of town!?"

"What's wrong Miss? Are you lost?" a childlike voice asked, Kusori looked everywhere, but didn't see anything. The child whispered to her with a toothy giggle,

"Look up!"

She did what she had been asked, and was astounded with what she saw. A small 7-year-old boy hovered above her head, with a smile plastered onto his face. A joyful gleam stayed prominent in his eyes. She began to gaze downward in confusion it was just a kid. Just a kid. A kid, that was floating above her head!?

"Are you alright Miss?" The little boy asked again, worry tangled in his voice.

"My name is Tonante Minoru…what's yours?"

"Kurosaki Kusori"

"It's nice to meet you! You know, it's been a while since someone was able to see me."

"It has?"

"Yeah! I'm a ghost! Didn't you know?"

"I kinda guessed, but is it a good thing I can see you?"

"Oh yeah. Now we can be friends!"

She smiled. He was a cute little kid.

"Can I call you Onee-chan?"

"Of course, whatever you'd like." She hesitated.

"Ok Onee-chan. Where are you going?"

Kusori was walking. Not away from him, but toward her house. It was almost time for dinner.

"I'm going home, I need to eat." As if on queue, her stomach had its way, grumbling into the quiet street.

"Oh ok, can I come? I'll be quiet. I swear!" He stated as his new friend gave him a quizzical look. She sighed,

"Fine. But only if you're super-duper quiet!" She said, as she brought her finger to her mouth, silencing herself as a gesture.

"Yup." His smile was so bright.

Kusori smiled and began to walk to her little house. The street way getting less noisy as they left. She pointed in front of them.

"Come on, it's this way."

---------

"Well thank you for dinner dad, it was delish, as always." Kusori complimented the food that was placed in front of her. She had already eaten it.

"Anytime, my little angel." That was her nickname. She glared at the mature man and he smiled, he turned to a young boy, and he smiled back. They both loved to get under her skin.

"I'm tired…" the boy yawned through his yawn.

"I'll take you up to your room, Hoshi-kun!"

"I'm old enough to take myself up!"

"Nonsense, I'll come with you!"

"Goodnight!"

"See you in the morning dad."

She took her brother by the arm, and begun to walk up the stairs. In retaliation, he said,

"I_ really _don't need you to take me to bed. I'm not a baby anymore." He looked away.

"I know, Hoshi-kun. I just didn't want to hear dad ramble on about his non-existent love life."

"True…Hey!"

He had just caught on to his nickname. His real name was Hoshimaru, but she called him Hoshi-kun. She laughed at his slowness, and took him to his room. They bade their farewells, and she walked into her own room. The darkness welcomed her as she opened her sturdy door. As if gravity willed it to, she closed the door, and fell onto her bed. It was 7:46. It was still light out, but the sun was making a quick descent. Soon the town of Karakura would be shrouded in a blanket of black. Unable to make herself fall asleep, an idea popped into her head. A short stroll would help relax her.

"Dad, I'm going for a walk." She called from the top of the stairs. Her dad, being overprotective, retaliated,

"This late? What if you get hurt?"

"I'll be fine, it's not that dark out yet."

"Fine," he sighed in defeat "but pick up some chips on your way."

"Alright" she said. That's not too hard…

He reached into his pocket and handed her 200 yen. She grabbed the yen and placed it into her own pocket. Her father smiled down on her, then wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a bear hug. He told her not to take too long. She laughed. Somehow, she got out of his arms and began to walk out the door. The crisp air of the night greeted her as she stepped silently down the driveway of her home.

It was quiet tonight, just like it always was. It didn't bug her, bug couldn't there even be one dog barking? Maybe it was too much to ask.

But then again…

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Minutes later, and she had walked out of a convenience store with a bag of chips, and a slushie. She had her own money to buy that. Walking down the street, she realized. It was quiet when she entered the artificially lit store, but now, noise was growing. The dogs howled. The cats shrieked. Both were desperate, like a warning. A warning. Warning….

"No! Get away from me!" a voice shouted into the heavens. She knew the voice. It was her friend.

"Minoru…" She whispered into the darkness, as if it would answer her. Confused and worried, she shouted into the starlit sky.

"Minoru! Minoru, where are you? Answer me!"

She ran, but not away like she had did before. She ran to him. She didn't know where he was, but she sensed him. And his attacker. Soon she came to an open road. The street was empty, and she saw a small boy weeping out of pain through his red hair.

"Minoru, are you-" she was cut off. By him.

"Well, who's this?" A deep, powerful voice questioned.

"Onee-chan! Run! Now!"

She saw her friend, and something else. Whatever it was, it was black. Like a big black blob of ink. Hard white cones shot out of its neck, she assumed it was bone. Its face was made out of the same material, but blood permanently stained its eyes and mouth.

"I'll have fun eating her"

"Onee-chan! Go!"

She stood her ground, and looked up at the black monster in front of her. He grinned maliciously.

"Oh a feisty one, with some strength, I _will_ have fun."

"Onee-chan! Please…"

"No, I am staying Minoru, and that's final."

"She can see us too? Oi girl! Are you a shinigami?"

She turned her head to the black thing and it laughed harshly.

"It'd be too bad if you were, I'd have to kill you all the sooner."

Her eyes widened in horror. Kill…? Was that thing serious? Would it actually kill her? Was this the end?

Out of nowhere, her eyes shut, and blood splattered in each direction. When she opened her eyes, she screamed torturously. That bastard had punctured her leg with his arm. Blood gushed out of the wound. Flowing onto the dirty ground. A pool of crimson blood engulfed her leg. Weakly she put her hand on the ground in an attempt to stand up, but it was in vain.

'Why can't I move?!'

The beast she called bastard smirked cruelly.

"When I stabbed you, I released my body's poisonous blood into your blood stream. You should have paralysis right about now." It laughed.

'That bastard!' she mentally screamed. Whatever it was he stabbed her with was flowing through her body. She was becoming paralyzed, but it wasn't so bad. She couldn't move from her waist-down. That was good, she could still punch.

"Now it'll be all over shortly." The thing said again. A hungry smile was plastered on its face and it had a gluttonous look in its eyes. About to devour its prey. Bad thing was, the prey couldn't move her legs. It flew at her, and she began to panic. There was nothing for her to do. In her desperation, she closed her eyes and waited for her demise.

Blood splattered on the ground, a horrendous cry pierced the bright stars in the silent night sky. She frightfully opened her orange orbs to find that the blood that layed drying on her cheek wasn't her's. She was covered by darkness, and she didn't know why. Looking up she saw black robes and an orange arm band. Someone had saved her, and struck the monster.

But who…?

Metal clashed against hard bone as the light from the moon shone above them all. She was safe, for the time being, and she still couldn't move! What a bummer. Just as the monster recoiled, her savior's voice spoke. It sounded serious but also a bit bored. His purple eyes glinted in the moon's retracted rays.

"I usually love faces that are plastered with a look of desperation and defeat, but not right now."

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so ya...ummm...LOL laura! i love how i mentioned you in the first part! anyways...yaa anyways...it was soooo hard to think of a title, and even the one I came up with at the end is jusr plain GAAAY!!! it is MAAN!

anyways...exams are coming up soon, but this week is even better! CULMINATING!!! WOOT!!! I HATE THEM SOOOOOO MUCH! I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL SCHOOL IS OVER!! so yeah...read the next chappie, keep posted, and warn me of any spelling mistakes via review!

ja ne everyone! ♥


	2. Chapter 2

ok well here's chappie two. If you want the disclaimer, its on the first page

"..." talking

'...' Kusori/ Yumichika thinking

'"..."' Yumichika talking to Kusori in her head

* * *

"What did you say!?" 

The monster screeched. Kusori's savior spoke again, with a tint of disgust.

"I prefer it when the prey has a say in their own demise, not when it has been chosen for them." He paused, and drove his hand through his dark hair. "Even if they aren't as beautiful as me…"

'Wait…What or who is he referring to? Holy crap! He's referring to me!' Kusori had finally caught on to his comment. With all the strength she could muster, she screamed to her savior,

"Are you saying I'm ugly!"

"I wasn't referring to you, you twit."

The horrible black beast laughed intentionally, "Funny, I thought you wouldn't be able to talk." The man glared at the monster in front of him. It continued,

"With all that poison, I thought you'd be dead by now…" It smirked, and the man's glare only intensified.

"That's cruel, truly cruel."

Kusori looked at him. He seemed so enraged by what it said. She didn't know why, but accepted that it was a good thing. He _was_ protecting her, after all. That's enough to know that the man was good, wasn't it? What were they? The thing that attacked her seemed too supernatural to be real, and her protector looked human. But she knew better than to think that. He wasn't human, or maybe…

'He's a ghost?'

I'm a Shinigami, but thank you for caring A voice inside her said sarcastically. The first step to schizophrenia.

'What the Hell? I have voices now?!'

'"You only wish you did, twit"'

'I know your voice. You're the one protecting me right now!'

'"Oh no shit, Sherlock."'

'That wasn't very nice of you to say.'

'"Does it look like I'm trying to be nice?"'

'Well you are saving me right now…'

'"Call that a fluke"'

"I'M GETTING SICK OF ALL THIS SILENCE!" The beast yelled ragefully. It was really getting flamed up.

'"You see that thing?"'

'No. All I see is a big, black blob. Of course I can see it!'

'"Well most people can't. That thing is called a Hollow"'

'A Hollow, eh? Looks dangerous…'

'"The voice laughed, You can be the judge of that"'

'"Uh oh!"'

_Clank Scrape_

Metal again clashed against hard bone in an attempt of defense. The Hollow had come after him. From what Kusori had collected, it seemed that Shinigami were people thast came for the living souls, and so did Hollows. So whenever they see each other, there is a sudden battle to the death for that soul. The Hollow backed away as blood dripped from its temple. The Shinigami had swung really hard, she figured.

'Oh shit! That means that the feather dude is gonna kill me! I'm too young to die! I haven't even done much with my life yet!'

She was mourning in her head. As much as she wanted to move her body, the paralysis denied her request. She was now poisoned up to her stomach, and she couldn't talk. She made an effort to squirm. With each passing moment, her body would get weaker, and the poison would spread. Soon it would reach her heart, and when it did it would not be able to function properly. It might mean she'd die. Death from Paralysis, or death from a blade…

'"My name is not _Feather Dude'_"

'Oh, so that means you're gonna kill me?!'

'"No! Listen, my name is Ayasegawa Yumichika. I'm a Shinigami"'

'Meaning…?'

He sighed mentally, '"Meaning, that I am a Soul Reaper. A Death god. I don't kill people, my job is to bring souls to peace"'

'So you ARE gonna kill me!'

'"NO! Will you shut up, you twit! You're not going to die, alright? I just need to deal with this Hollow, but before I do that…"'

The soul reaper turned, and eyed her mysteriously. For all she knows, he could have been just glancing at her. But since she was fifteen years old, she was too immature to know that.

'You better not be getting any ideas.'

'"I wouldn't with someone like you!"' He sounded disgusted by the mere thought.

'I thought you said I wasn't ugly.' She was getting upset now.

'"Even so, I wouldn't think of doing anything like that with you"'

'Thanks Feather Dude'

'"My name is Ayasegawa Yumichika…"'

"AND IF YOU DARE CALL ME THAT ONE MORE TIME, I'LL GET REALLY ANGRY WITH YOU!"

"So the savoir isn't as sweet and kind as I thought…" The hollow spat at him. Yumichika frowned at the remark.

"I don't know what to do next…I mean you're a Shinigami, with a lot of reitsu. But then again, the girl has a bit of it too. Enough for an appetizer, I'd say."

"Bastard, he's thinking of eating us, and her first…I gotta do something, but what?"

Yumichika said under his breath. What would anyone else do in his situation? His mission as a Shinigami is to guide the souls of the living and the dead. The lost souls or the souls that are safe. This girl wasn;t safe, but there was no plausible way that he could get her out of this battle. An idea finally popped into his head.

"But it might not work…I've got to try."

She has some reitsu in her. Maybe it'll work?

'"You girl…"'

'My name is Kurosaki Kusori, you know.'

'"And?"'

'Well I thought that since you don't like being called Feather dude, that I don't like being called _girl_"

'"Whatever"'

'Yeah, whatever. I'm not gonna talk to you anymore.'

He sighed, he shouldn't be arguing with her, now of all times.

'"Listen to me, do you want to get away?"'

The girl was enticed by what he proposed.

'Now you're talking…but how are you gonna do it if you're fighting _fat, black and gruesome_ over there?'

'"It might not work, but I could give you a small amount of my reitsu."'

'You'll give me your WHAT!?' Her age, again showing.

'"My spiritual energy, you noob."'

'I thought I was a twit!'

'"Same thing. Look, do you want out of here or not?"'

'I do, yeah'

He extended his arm out to her. His long fingers almost touching her lower arm.

'"Then get all the strength you can, and reach up to my hand. I'll do the rest."'

So, with all she could, she tried to move her arm. Her first two attempts failed, but by her third try she lifted her arm shakily to his firm hand. He took hold of her arm, and an awkward sensation was felt, for both of them. One side was gaining strength, and the other side was losing strength _(To obtain, something of equal value must be lost: Equivalent Exchange)._ When he was about to let go a strong weight had pulled on his arm. He had been holding up this girl, and now she had fallen towards the ground. He dove to catch her, and so continued the loss of energy.

'What's going on?' He thought 'The more I want to let go, the more my mind is telling me not to. It's like, my mind doesn't want me to let go of her. But why? If I continue this, is she going to take all my powers? I only did mean to give her enough to stand up and run.'

He gazed at her. Her eyes were partially closed, and as the energy came into her, her breathing became lighter. Her arm twitched, and she was able to move with ease now.

'Maybe the amount of reitsu I wanted to give her wasn't enough to sustain her. Makes sense.'

"Feeling…better?" As he spoke to her, he stared in disbelief.

"Much. Thank you. I really am- Why are you staring at me!?" Then she looked at herself/

"I don't believe it!" She said scared.

"Neither can I…I mean, you're wearing a uniform."

"A uniform? A uniform for what?"

"A shinigami's uniform. That means you must have enough reitsu in you to be a soul reaper."

"Does that mean I have to die?"

"No, not really…"

"What's going on? Why are you talking? How can you be moving? And why do you smell like a Death god, girl? ANSWER ME!" The hollow questioned her.

"You, hollow, what's your name?"

"Diablo."

"Well, Diablo, I'm gonna kill you for what you did to me!"

"_Exorcise._ We exorcise hollows, Kusori." He sighed impatiently. She turned to face her new mentor that called himself Yumichika.

"Right. I knew that…" She shook her head nervously.

* * *

Ok that's chappie two!! yaaaaaaaaaay! oh ya! if any of you see a random line thing in the story, please ignore it. Idk if i pressed the button or not, so if it appears, wherever it appears, please ignore! thanks you 

again, my exams are coming up...and this saddens me :( oh well i hope i do good on them

well im tired so im gonna go to sleep now! REVIEW!! and ja ne my readers ♥


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, keep with me. I decided to make this take place in the Arrancar Arc. But i needed to put this in to give a basic outline of their relationship. So basically, before you read this...Kusori has a somewaht crush on Yumichika, not fully awoken.. and then this happens and she...well she doesn't realize her feelings, but she gets a better understanding of them,...kay? now just read. And i also want you to know that today is Yumichika's birthday so

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YUMICHIKA!!!!!!!! (it is Sept 19 when i wrote this)

DISCLAIMER: Dont own bleach, dont own love

* * *

Chapter Three

"Is this the place?"

Kusori looked at the small building that resided within the boundaries of the eleventh division. It was nothing special, it looked exactly like every other housing unit in the eleventh division. But this unit, held a certain aura to it. The scent of lavender sifted through the area, almost intoxicating the young substitute. If she remembered correctly, Zakari-taichou told her that Ikkaku was going to be in charge of punishing her. So if that was the case, why did his doorstep reek of a feminine flower? Slowly, she walked up to the solid door. It seemed sturdy, and locked, so she wrapped on the door. Out there, she sat and waited. For what seemed like a minute, the door finally opened. The lavender scent became stronger as the door opened. Kusori took a step back, and looked at the man appearing out from behind the hard door.

"Kusori-chan? What are you doing here this early?" She glared lightly at the sleepy man, who yawned, and rubbed his left eye.

"Yumichika-senpai? I thought you were…."

"Ikkaku?"

"Hai…" She said, he had read her mind. He sighed, and raked his hand through his silk hair.

"You're here for your punishment aren't you?"

"Hai."

"Well," he yawned, "Ikkaku isn't here, he went to go train."

'Bastard!' she thought. 'He was supposed to punish me today! I wasted a whole day going through preparation to get into the Seretei, and he's off training!?' Unforgivable. Just completely idiotic.

"But if you want, you can wait in here with me for him." He offered. She turned her head, and raised her chin high. He was her senpai, but why would she waste her time in the Seretei waiting for a person she could easily find? She could go look for him, and be over with the punishment within an hour, tops! She had a huge assignment to do in the human world.

"I'll make tea…" He chimed in a melodious tone. He walked up to her, and playfully grabbed her shoulders as he said this. She sighed, but in defeat.

"Alright. I'll wait for him…"

He guided her into his abode, and she took in more incense. There was vanilla, and almond and the lavender. They all mixed together in harmony as she stepped out from the crampt hallway and entered his small living room. She could see in the corner, his zanpakuto was firmly placed on a fluffy pillow. She envied that piece of metal. Later, she walked over to his table, and sat herself down near it. After all, you need a place to put your tea.

"Kusori-chan. Listen!"

"Hmm? Oh gomen, senpai. What is it you were saying?"

"I asked you how you like your tea?"

She told him she liked her tea black, and he smiled within the confines of his kitchen. Within minutes the tea was made. He came to the table, and placed the orange clay teapot on the table, and he handed her a rather large clay cup. She took it, and thanked him. He smiled, and sat on the other side of the table. Across from Kusori. Tea in his hands.

"Umm…Yumichika?"

"Hai?"

"Do you know what my punishment is? Ikkaku wouldn't tell me."

He sighed. "Well, he didn't really tell me either. But you want to get back to your own home soon right?"

She nodded. He smirked.

"Alright then…." And he glanced at Kusori in amusement. She didn't know what he thought was funny. So she kept to herself and drank her tea. He smirked again.

"What cup size are you?" He took in more tea. She spat hers out.

Horror was plastered on her face, and glazed over her eyes. This is what he was so amused about. This was her punishment. Funny. Sometimes Yumichika does think like a girl would. So, his way of punishment was to get out any question he asked her, to get her embarrassed. Well, she wasn't going to let that happen.

"32B." she said confidently. She wouldn't let him have fun with her punishment.

"Only?" he said, surprised. "That's sad. If you gained a little more weight, they could be so much bigger…"

She was fuming. How dare he talk about her body as if it's some type of specimen! That was Kurotsuchi-taichou's job.

"Speaking of which…How much **do** you weigh?" He prodded her from across the table. She glared at him, as he sighed nonchalantly.

'Asshole' she thought, 'but this is a game. And I can't let him win.' She concluded inwardly.

"119lbs." She closed her eyes. Seizing the moment, he stretched his arm and tapped her on the nose. It might have been a playful gesture on his behalf, but she felt as if she were a dog being punished for growling at the neighbours. He sunk back to his original seat, and took another sip of his green tea. She drank her own as well, fully aware of the situation she was in. She was being forced into a very disturbing interrogation, and she didn't know where her breaking point was. He glanced at her, and sensed the aura around her. Either she was afraid, or…

'She's upset?' Yumichika thought, 'Why would she be upset? Unless…' He placed his fingertip to his chin, and with his other hand, he took yet another sip from his teacup.

"Tell me, Kusori-chan…" He began; he knew that this would probably bring her over the edge for sure. "Is it your time of the month?"

She opened her eyes. Anger boiled in her, and she had the urge to punch him, but she knew better. This was her punishment. She had to accept it, and to shed tears at any time would be to forfeit. It would be to show weakness. She didn't want to show weakness to her senpai, and she didn't want to lose. But how could she answer a question like that? If she gives a sarcastic remark, he will think she's being snappy with him and assume that she is. If she answers honestly, he will know. Truth is, it was her time of the month, but that's not something you need to share. Especially to a guy, who happens to be your senpai? But there was no way to squirrel her way around the question. So, she inhaled some air, and exhaled before she answered, hoping to God her voice didn't crack.

"Yes, actually. Now is that all?"

He seemed shocked to hear that. Not many girls would tell a guy that it was their time of the month. And even if they did, they'd expect to see sympathy for it. But she just sat there, showing a poor cover of endurance, and trying to be strong for herself. That's what made her so great. She didn't want or expect to be given special attention. That's a part of her he always admired. But something about the way she sat there. Slouched, trying not to show her face to him. It made him sad. Hopefully his game was soon over.

"No, I'm sorry. Just a few more questions, and then you can be on your way."

She didn't look at him, which he took as a sign that she didn't want to continue, but she accepted, and nodded her head. She was really amazing. He had a few more questions to ask, but the next one was a whopper of a question, and in her state, he didn't know if she could live through it. But he wanted to ask it. More like, he _needed_ to ask it. Seeing as it had been burrowing away in the back of his mind for so long. He finally realized that now it mattered for that question to be answered. If it wasn't, he might go insane. Quietly, he asked,

"Are you a virgin?" It was barely audible, but she heard it.

Purely shocked, she dropped her clay cup. It shattered to the ground, and broke of into hundreds of small sharp pieces. One piece, however, was not that small, and flew its way up to her arm. Its contact with her pale skin slit, and within seconds, thick blood found its way to the surface. Another small one hit the side of her left cheek. Instinctively, she brought her hand to her the open wound on her arm, and cringed in pain. Yumichika, since his eyes were closed and looking down, didn't see the auburn haired girl have her arm cut. He only heard the teacup break. Apparently, he thought she didn't hear his question.

"Well, are you?" He said with his head still down. He didn't want to make eye contact with her for this particular question. And it made sense not to. He only did look up when he heard an _"Ow…" _escape from her lips. To see why she had said that, of all things. He brought his head up, and his eyes widened in terror as the scene unfolded in front of him.

There, on the other side of the table, was his pupil, and good friend, holding her right arm, and cringing in agony. Her left cheek had been cut too, and a small stream of blood was trying to flow down her jaw line. She was holding back tears to his surprise. He could have compressed the urge to hold her when he was interrogating her before, but at the sight of her on the verge of tears, worry overwhelmed him. He rushed to her, the oak table rattling a bit as he stood, and kneeled down beside her. He made her look him in the eye, and she did. Her eyes were big, and full of tears just waiting to come out.

He looked at her sadly, and motioned for her to move her hand. She refused, shaking her head, but he needed to see what happened. Reluctantly, she gave in and removed her hand, exposing the stain of crimson blood on her arm. There was still blood spewing out from the 'flesh wound'. He smiled at her sadly, and said,

"This isn't so bad." She wanted to hit him, but her arm wouldn't allow it, she just gave him a look to stop joking around. Inevitably he did, and continued,

"Well, never fear. I have some bandages in my bedroom. I'll go get them."

Against her will, and his own, he left for his bedroom. He turned back to her, she with wide wondering eyes, and he with a wink. She smiled slightly at his comforting gesture. And before she even knew he was gone, he came back. In his right hand, a bottle and in his left, cloths and gauze. She looked at the bottle, back at him, the bottle, narcissist, and the bottle. She stared at that bottle for a very long time, before he spoke. He had opened the bottle, and used the cloth to place some of the its content on it. It was a clear liquid, and it had a strong scent. It wasn't vanilla like his room, or lavender like himself. She could have sworn she had smelt it before. In an incident just like this.

"This might sting a little." He said, unsure of her reaction.

He took her right arm, and placed the strip of cloth lightly over the bloody cut. She knew what it was now. Iodine. She lightly winced as the medicine was sent into her body, and muffled a scream. He had the cut on her arm clean, and was now using the white bandage to cover it. Many times he twisted the mesh-like gauze over the wound, and finally he tied it up. Now he took another cloth, and put some Iodine on it too (after he tossed the other cloth). He folded the fabric and placed it lightly on her left cheek. Once in place, he covered it with his hand, so it seemed as if his hand cupped her cheek. Since this cut wasn't big, it didn't cause her a lot of pain. She look up to him, and smiled, as heat reached from her gut and tinged her cheekbones.

"Try to be more careful please."

He said, with his hand still on her cheek. By now, he had forgotten that the iodinated strip of fabric was underneath. The only thought in his mind was his hand making contact with her face. And the fact that she did nothing to remove said hand. Anxiety and pride flew within his heart, as he thought of what to do next. As of right now, that moment, all he wanted was her warmth, and to obtain it by his embrace. Realizing what he wanted to do, he released his hand, and wrapped his arms around her. She was secured in his chest, and they both wanted it to stay that way. Their auras mingled and they absentmindedly took in each others lingering smell. Yumichika smelt of lavender, but he couldn't find out hers.

'She smells magnificent. Like some type of exotic flower.' He thought blissfully, as he rested his head within her shoulder, and buried his head in her neck. 'Orchid, maybe? Who knows? I'll just enjoy it for now…' And that is just what he did. A smile began to tug on the ends of his lips when he noticed she did nothing. She didn't pull back. She had given him free access to his neck, and he took it. Meanwhile little did he know that the young woman encircled in his arms was blushing furiously.

"One more question…" His neck still within the warm confines of her soft neck. "Out of Ikkaku, Ukitake-taichou and Kuchiki-taichou, who would you choose?"

She was shocked by his question. Never, had she expected to have a question like _that_ asked to her. But, she had to say the truth. Her lips curled upward as she stated her answer to him.

"None of them." He snapped his head away from her neck when she said this. He had expected to hear at least one of the names be called, but her answer was different. And he needed to know why.

"Why?"

"Well, they're not the most beautiful men in the Seretei. I'm not a big fan of Kuchiki-taichou, I haven't even heard of Ukitake-taichou, and Ikkaku isn't for me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well..." She sighed, "I guess, umm, I mean, There's nothing we could even base a relationship on!"

"But..." He asked, pulling away slightly, saddened by the fact she didn't pull closer, "Who do you think the most beautiful man in the Seretei is?"

Her eyes seemed to gleam in joy, and she wrapped her arms around his chest. He was shocked at first, but then he began to smile too.

"I'm not telling...yet."

He realized something, she did nothing when he embraced her, and when he pulled away, she embraced him. She wanted to stay with him. She wanted to have his company. And that fact could even make the happiest man even happier. He wrapped his arms around her, and placed his chin on her head. Everything felt so in place.

"Let's keep it that way."

Yes, everything in life was now perfect for him.

* * *

NOW IM DONE AND I NEED TRO GIVE MY SIS A BATH JA NE!!!!!!! ♥ 


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

Chapter Four

There he sat

There he sat. Or better yet, there he stood. With four other people in front of him. Abarai-fuutaichou was there arguing with an orange-haired hothead. Ikkaku just stood there having a dispute with Rangiku-san, and Hitsugaya-taichou was glaring at the incompetence and normality of the humans. So he stood there, just watching everything unfold before his eyes. From the hallway, he could hear laughter, but he tried to ignore. It sounded so serene and so happy, yet so familiar at the same time. Again, he tried to ignore it the best he could. But then the laughter became louder, and the footsteps were coming closer. For a moment, he turned his head as if he didn't care. And two people stepped in.

- - - - - - - - -

"And then he was like 'whoa'. And I was like 'WHOA'! And then the police came."

"Please…" Kusori asked, the doubt slipping through her voice "Please tell me you guys booked it. You did book it, right?"

"Of course we did!" Keigo shouted, "It would…"

Whatever he said after that, Kusori didn't hear. She looked ahead, and saw five people standing outside their classroom. A shortie, a baldie, a girl with huge boobs, Abarai-fuutachou and…feather dude?

At that moment, she froze. She had rarely seen him since that one incident concerning her 'punishment'. But she wondered what they were all doing here…

"Kusori-chan? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

She gasped, and combed her fingers through her hair.

"Do I?! Oh no, this isn't good…"

"Isn't good? **What's** not good?"

"Nothing!" She peeped. He stared at her incredulously, wanting a better explanation, but she just shook her head and refused to tell him anymore.

"Nothing, but does my hair look okay?"

"Does my hair…" He mimicked, "Who are you, and what have you done with Kurosaki Kusori!"

"I did NOTHING with myself, okay!?" She yelled, but after she cooled off, she began to ask again, "Now are you **sure **I look decent?"

"OH NO!" Keigo screamed in terror, "She's become a prep! SAVE US FROM THE WORLD!"

Kusori stared at him, as he frantically ran through the hallways to get away from her. She had to admit, the silence was relaxing. _Damn, I don't have a mirror, _she thought.

"Oh well, I have to at **least** be decent enough." And she walked behind her friend. As soon as she was a few feet away from the classroom, she heard Keigo shout 'Who's creating all this tension without me!?'. At that, she laughed. _Well today's gonna be a fun day, I think._

"Who the Hell are you?!" That shout came from inside the classroom. She could have sworn it sounded like Ikkaku. Something must have provoked his anger. She walked to the door, and stood there for a few minutes, looking around at the students scared shitless, and Ichigo lying limp in Abarai-fuutachou's arms. As she gazed at Ikkaku, she saw Big Boobs petting his head.

"I told you to stop doing that, badly."

Ikkaku glared at her, and ranted on about something, but Kusori wasn't paying attention to them. She was looking by the window. That's where she saw her senpai. He was leaning against the window, looking rather bored, and if she was mistaken, it looked as if he were concentrating on something. She wanted to go find out, and to greet him, so she took steps past Ikkaku and Matsumoto, and walked to the other side of the room. He wasn't paying attention, so she decided to sneak up on him. Taking every stealthy step necessary, until it happened. While making her way sneakily to her target, her shoelace slid underneath a desk, and got caught. She tripped, and fell to her face with a CRASH-BOOM-BANG. Being taken out of his trance, he opened his eyes, and stared in front of him. A few desks away, he saw a girl, with auburn hair, lying dazed on the ground. In that uniform, he recognized her immediately. He ran from the window, and down to her side.

"Kusori-chan! Are you okay?" He sat her up, and she was still in a state of bafflement. Not knowing what to do, he shook her. But shaking her made him remember 'pleasant' memories, so he let go. She threw her head from side to side, and opened her eyes.

"Yumichika-san! I missed you!" She jumped and hugged him.

A small blush crept its way to the shinigami's cheekbones. Stuttering, he lightly pushed her off of him, hands still lingering on her thin shoulders. But her need to glomp her superior was far greater than his own. Thus, it flustered him even more.

"K-K-K-Kusori-chan?!"

He heard her mumbling something, and since he had given up on keeping her away she was allowed to embrace him. Smiling into his chest. This ensued that his smile softened and blush intensified. Immediately, he realized what led to these events and silently waited for her attention. Soon enough, she gave it and looked at to him with a content smile.

"You…didn't answer my question, you know."

She cocked her head to the side in bafflement. He chuckled, and repeated himself,

"I asked if you were okay before, so ar-."

"Hunh? Oh yes, yes I'm fine!" She stammered out quickly, with faint rosy cheeks.

They just sat there in silence. Every other person from the Seretei in that room was preoccupied at the moment. Matsumoto and Ikkaku were still fighting, Renji was laughed a soft maniacal laugh to Ikkaku. Rukia, who suddenly appeared while he was helping his pupil, took Ichigo. And Hitsugaya was being…Hitsugaya. Nothing was different from a few moments before.

"….Ne… Senpai?" She asked coyly. He turned to her. She wore a blank face, though the cute colour remained in it.

"Were you worried about me?"

He took a while to respond, but he ended up nodding his head silently.

"Well then," Her face flushed a little bit more. Yumichika gazed at her from where he sat on the floor. It seemed as though sparkles and confetti and stars and flowers gathered behind her as she made her epically shoujo-manga girl admiration scene. But still being a man (who would have thought, eh?) he fell prey to her innocence.

"Thank you! "

Without a further thought, he could not contain himself. The narcissistic man, who found joy in finding beauty in the objects around him, found a glimpse of beauty in this unkempt diamond. He pulled her back into his arms and stroked his head on hers affectionately, and squealed very loudly

"SO CUTE!! "

Without delay, or thought, she became flustered and began to stutter due to him. But he only responded with the same answer each time.

"Y-Y-Yumichika-san!?"

"SO CUTE!! "

"Yumichika-san!"

"SO CUTE!! "

"…Senpai…?"

"SO CUTE!! "

That was it, she thought, he's stuck in a loop mode. How to get him out? Shock him…but how… An idea popped into her head, it was cruel, but it would pay off in the long run.

"My name is Ayasegawa Yumichika, and I believe that Madarame Ikkaku is…" She waited for his response,

"SO CUTE!! "

She smirked at his unawareness, and her eyes became pools of watered down sadism. Realizing his blunder, he looked to Kusori with fear in his eyes. He tried to explain to her, and she cocked her eyebrow at him, still purchasing that arrogant smirk.

"It's not what you think it is, Kusori-chan!"

"SUUUURE it is! You just keep telling yourself that, Yumi-kun." She flicked his nose, and snickered at him sweetly. He tried to keep his feelings from being revealed, but it was to no avail.

"…Shut up."

He had to admit though; he did enjoy a lot of the things she did to him. The glomping, the sweet voice and smile she reserved just for him. Her soft and oddly warm touch. And also, the new nickname that he had received from her. Today, he was happy.

* * *

**Wow! Haven't updated this one in a while...Sorry, I kinda went on a Bleach hiatus and I don't EVEN KNOW WHY! Like oh my God, I am on episode 160 right now, and manga chapter 317 XD I am soo happy... Near the end of March, I celebrated Don Kanoji's birthday with three, perhaps four of my friends. Since none of us had money, we adopted his signature "BWAHAHAHA" as our personal greeting for the day. And then on April 1st, we celebrated Hanatarou's birthday. We had fun. OOooooh! But ya, who's birthday is up next? I don't know, oh well. And then all of my friends are sporting fine gotei captain nicknames. Laura is Captain Grumpypants (Hitsugaya) Natalie is Captain BETTERTHANU (Byakuya) Rachel is Captain NINJABITCH (Soi Fong) and I am the amazing Captain Turberculosis (Ukitake) We still have to find one for Alyssa, but we are assuming that she will be Captain Mom (Unohana). But ya that's about it for me, I apologise for my not watching Bleach, and I will continue to watch it! Well please PLEASE review, and have fun! Remember the trick to life is not to get too attached to it! JA MATA!! **


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